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Behind the Numbers: Arsenal's capital gains

This week our statistician Josh James looks at Arsenal's record against local rivals.

Arsenal play their second consecutive Premier League London derby this weekend, and each of the next three home league fixtures are also against London teams. So this week we take a look at the Gunners' all-time Premier League record in London derbies.

Arsenal sit proudly on top of the all-time 'London-only Premier League' table, having played 185 derbies in all since the league was established in 1992, winning 93. The Club's full record in derby matches is P185, W93, D53, L39, F308, A177.

Those matches have come against eight different London-based teams (five of which are in the Premier League this season).

In fact more than a quarter (26 per cent) of Arsenal's league fixtures this season will be London derbies, so it's encouraging to know that Arsenal have the best record among all the London teams for Premier League derby matches.

The Gunners have taken 332 points from derbies, ahead of Chelsea (330), Tottenham (228) and West Ham United (178). Arsenal are also the top scorers in such matches (308 goals) and have the best goal difference (+131).

In all there have been 527 London derbies in Premier League history, which accounts for 6.7 per cent of the total games played in the league.

Arsenal have also taken more Premier League points overall than any other London team - 40 more than Chelsea and 361 more than Tottenham.

All-time London derby league table - Premier League

Pos

Team

P

W

D

L

F

A

GD

Pts

1

Arsenal

185

93

53

39

308

177

131

332

2

Chelsea

186

92

54

40

307

185

122

330

3

Tottenham Hotspur

185

56

60

69

234

257

-23

228

4

West Ham United

150

48

34

68

165

226

-61

178

5

Wimbledon

78

23

22

33

85

113

-28

91

6

Fulham

99

20

29

50

97

156

-59

89

7

Charlton Athletic

76

23

15

38

90

127

-37

84

8

Queens Park Rangers

53

15

16

22

55

67

-12

61

9

Crystal Palace

42

9

13

20

38

71

-33

40

London clubs' all-time Premier League records

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Points

Arsenal

778

417

207

154

1,458

Chelsea

778

406

200

172

1,418

Tottenham Hotspur

778

297

206

275

1,097

West Ham United

622

205

160

257

775

Fulham

424

133

121

170

520

Wimbledon

316

99

94

123

391

Charlton Athletic

304

93

82

129

361

Queens Park Rangers

208

69

48

91

255

Crystal Palace

160

37

49

74

160

So Arsenal average 1.79 points per game from Premier League derbies, which is slightly less than the average points they have taken from non-derby matches (1.9 per game).

The Gunners also score fewer goals in derby matches compared to the other fixtures - 1.66 goals a game in derbies compared to 1.76 in other matches.

These stats would appear to add some weight to the argument that it's tougher for London clubs to win the league, due to the intensity and number of local derbies they have to play.

However, it's worth remembering that in each of Arsenal's past two Double-winning campaigns (1997/98 and 2001/02), there were six London clubs in the top flight, as there are again this year.

When we break down the results by opposition, it's clear that fortunes in London derbies vary wildly depending on the individual fixture. For example, Arsenal average a very healthy 2.38 points per game against Charlton in the Premier League era (16 matches) but have taken less than half that (1.1 points per game) from the 10 Premier League matches against Queens Park Rangers.

In fact, QPR are the only London team that Arsenal do not have a superior record against, having won just twice against them in the Premier League, and never away from home.

As for this Saturday's opponents West Ham, Arsenal have played 32 Premier League derbies against them, winning 19 - more than against any other London side. The team also average an impressive 1.88 points per game from the games at Upton Park.

Arsenal's Premier League record against other London clubs

Home

Away

Total

P

W

D

L

F

A

PPG

P

W

D

L

F

A

PPG

P

W

D

L

F

A

PPG

Chelsea

21

11

6

4

32

27

1.86

20

7

6

7

27

25

1.35

41

18

12

11

59

52

1.61

Tottenham Hotspur

20

11

7

2

38

20

2

20

4

10

6

28

28

1.1

40

15

17

8

66

48

1.55

West Ham United

16

11

1

4

25

9

2.13

16

8

6

2

23

10

1.88

32

19

7

6

48

19

2

Fulham

11

8

3

0

24

7

2.45

11

7

1

3

20

8

2

22

15

4

3

44

15

2.23

Wimbledon

8

2

3

3

13

8

1.13

8

5

1

2

17

8

2

16

7

4

5

30

16

1.56

Charlton Athletic

8

6

1

1

22

8

2.38

8

6

1

1

14

4

2.38

16

12

2

2

36

12

2.38

Queens Park Rangers

5

2

2

1

5

3

1.6

5

0

3

2

4

7

0.6

10

2

5

3

9

10

1.1

Crystal Palace

4

3

0

1

10

3

2.25

4

2

2

0

6

2

2

8

5

2

1

16

5

2.13

Total

93

54

23

15

169

85

1.99

92

39

30

23

139

92

1.6

185

93

53

39

308

177

1.79

In 11 of the 20 Premier League seasons so far (55 per cent), Arsenal have had the best record in London derbies, including nine seasons in a row between 1996/97 and 2004/05. They have also finished as the top London team in the table on 11 occasions, most recently last season.

There have been five instances of London teams remaining unbeaten in derbies for an entire season - and four of them were recorded by Arsenal. In the title seasons of 1997/98 and 2003/04 Arsenal didn't lose a London derby, nor in 2002/03. In 2004/05 both Arsenal and Chelsea remained unbeaten in derby matches.

The Gunners also hold the all-time record for the longest unbeaten run in top-flight league London derbies, a run of 35 matches.

The sequence lasted from November 4, 2001, when the Gunners lost 4-2 at home to Charlton, to August 21, 2005 and a 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.

Unbeaten London derby run

Date

Opposition

Venue

Score

Result

Nov 17, 2001

Tottenham H

away

1-1

draw

Dec 15, 2001

West Ham

away

1-1

draw

Dec 26, 2001

Chelsea

home

2-1

win

Feb 23, 2002

Fulham

home

4-1

win

Apr 1, 2002

Charlton

away

3-0

win

Apr 6, 2002

Tottenham H

home

2-1

win

Apr 24, 2002

West Ham

home

2-0

win

Aug 24, 2002

West Ham

away

2-2

draw

Sep 1, 2002

Chelsea

away

1-1

draw

Sep 14, 2002

Charlton

away

3-0

win

Nov 3, 2002

Fulham

away

1-0

win

Nov 16, 2002

Tottenham H

home

3-0

win

Dec 15, 2002

Tottenham H

away

1-1

draw

Jan 1, 2003

Chelsea

home

3-2

win

Jan 19, 2003

West Ham

home

3-1

win

Feb 1, 2003

Fulham

home

2-1

win

Mar 2, 2003

Charlton

home

2-0

win

Oct 18, 2003

Chelsea

home

2-1

win

Oct 26, 2003

Charlton

away

1-1

draw

Nov 8, 2003

Tottenham H

home

2-1

win

Nov 30, 2003

Fulham

home

0-0

draw

Feb 21, 2004

Chelsea

away

2-1

win

Feb 28, 2004

Charlton

home

2-1

win

Apr 25, 2004

Tottenham H

away

2-2

draw

May 9, 2004

Fulham

away

1-0

win

Sep 11, 2004

Fulham

away

3-0

win

Oct 2, 2004

Charlton

home

4-0

win

Nov 6, 2004

Crystal Palace

away

1-1

draw

Nov 13, 2004

Tottenham H

away

5-4

win

Dec 12, 2004

Chelsea

home

2-2

draw

Dec 26, 2004

Fulham

home

2-0

win

Jan 1, 2005

Charlton

away

3-1

win

Feb 14, 2005

Crystal Palace

home

5-1

win

April 20, 2005

Chelsea

away

0-0

draw

April 25, 2005

Tottenham H

home

1-0

win

Top side in London derbies

Season

Top side in London derbies

Pts

1992/93

Chelsea

19

1993/94

Arsenal

17

1994/95

QPR

21

1995/96

Tottenham

19

1996/97

Arsenal

15

1997/98

Arsenal

22

1998/99

Arsenal

21

1999/00

Arsenal

16

2000/01

Arsenal

15

2001/02

Arsenal

21

2002/03

Arsenal

24

2003/04

Arsenal

18

2004/05

Arsenal*

24

2005/06

Chelsea

19

2006/07

Chelsea

21

2007/08

Arsenal

21

2008/09

Tottenham

13

2009/10

Chelsea

19

2010/11

Chelsea

17

2011/12

Tottenham

14

* = ahead of Chelsea on goals scored

Stats correct as at October 4, 2012. With thanks to Opta.

Josh James also provides the stats for the Arsenal Analysis pages of the matchday programme.

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